Combination beach bag and back rest



April 1, 1958 J. M. HILTON COMBINATION BEACH BAG AND BACK REST Filed April 26, 1954 INVENTOR. W B

"desire to relax and yet Watch the children.

'COMBENATION BEAQH BAG AND BACK REST Joseph M. Hilton, Wickliii'e, Ghio Application April 26, 1954, Serial No. 425,429

3 Claims. (Cl. 155-454) This invention relates to beach and picnic equipment in general and relates more specifically to a back rest device to support the torso of a person seated on, or close 'to, a plane surface such as the earth or a sandy beach.

Sun bathers and swimmers are usually obliged to use a blanket or robe on the earth and lie prone on the group to absorb the suns rays and enjoy a relaxing moment in the open. However, when one lays prone on his back in the sun, the sun is usually uncomfortable on the eyes. Furthermore, people generally would rather sit or recline part of the time. Mothers, for example, While at abeach'are notable to watch small children in and 'arou'nd'the water unless they can sit up. It is her Prior to 'this invention, the mother was obliged to sit upright without any support and therefore unable to fully relax. "Folding chairs and similar devices now available are not only cumbersome to transport, but are not as comfortable or-desirable to use on a beach as the sand itself. Also, such a folding chair takes away the rustic effect so "desirable to complete enjoyment of a warm sandy beach.

An object of this invention is to provide a back rest, or supporting device, to support the torso of a person seated'on the ground, beach, or similar plane surface.

Another object of this invention is to provide such a device in a foldable form suitable for storage and transportation.

Still another object of-this invention is to provide two members foldable together to define an enclosed space suitable lfer carrying objects andopenable into an endto-end position to serve as a back rest.

Yet another object of this invention is to provide a support prop-leg foldable into the space 'for storage and openable toserveas a means for holding the two members in usable position. Andanotherobject of'this invention'i's'to providejsuch device "with "a 'seat "pad which may be folded into .the storage "sp'ac'e "and moved into seat position only at the option of the user.

'sGther objects and a fullenunde'rstanding of ,fthefinvention may be had by referring to the following description and claims, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing, in which:

Figure l is a perspective view of the preferred embodiment of the invention as it appears opened to a reclining support position;

Figure 2 is a view similar to Figure l with the second section of the prop-leg support opened to hold the back rest more nearly vertical, and also illustrating a seat pad member opened to operative position;

Figure 3 is a perspective view of the device as illustrated in Figure 1, but laying on the back section to better illustrate the storage position of the seat pad; and

Figure 4 is a side view of the seat pad portion in the United rates p e 2,828,808 Patented Apr. 1,1958

operative position thus illustrating the leg support member thereof.

Referring to the drawing, the Figure 1 illustrates a back rest device 10 of this invention. This device 10 comprises 'a section 11 and a section 12 with suitable means to joint the sections in laterally extended 'endto-end relationship suitable to serve as a back rest to a seated person. Any suitable means may be employed to join the sections 11 and 12 such, for example, as hinges. With a hinge device, thesections Hand 12 may merely be folded together. In this respect, when hinged together, a simple snap-lock device may be employed to hold the sections in storage position superimposed in side-by-side relationship in the manner of closing and looking a carrying case, a suitcase, or a valise. Otherwise, a secondary buckle lock may be employed on opposed sides of a device to hold the sections 11 or 12 in side-by-side storage position.

in the Figure l of the drawing, the sections 11 and 12 are illustrated as having side edges 13 and 14. Thus, when closed upon one another, the sections 11 and 12 will enclose a space suitable for carrying commonly desired items such as cameras, slippers, cigarettes, money, and beachwear. In other words, in the prefered form, the back rest device 10 appears quite similar to an ordinary carrying case when closed.

To support the sections 11 and 12 in the extended position suitable to serve as a back rest, a support prop-leg device 15 is provided. It .is preferable to have such support props and legs foldable for storage between the sections 11 and 12 when the sections are superimposed in the storage position. In other words, the illustrated embodiment wherein the sections are provided with the side edges, the provision of a foldable prop leg makes possible the storage of the prop leg within the space defined by the closed sections together with the other articles carried therein.

As illustrated in Figure 2, the support prop leg 15 comprises a frame section 16 and a frame section 17. The frame section 16 is preferably attached to the opened sections 11 and '1-2 in order to provide a suitable nonslip support. in a preferred embodiment, a piano-type hinge is used to join sections 11 and 12, and one section of the hinge is removed near each end thereof. Then, suitable interfitting hinge members carried by the frame 16 are inserted into the omitted sections. Thus, frame section it is secured to the device 10 at .all times and may be swung into the section 11 or section 12 as desired withoutdisconnecting any attachment device.

The frame section 17 is-for-med to fit into the outline of frame section 15in a storage position and is pivotally attached to swing out into an auxiliaryposition substantially as illustrated in Figure 2. "From theillustration of Figure 2 it Will be seen that no'lock devices are needed to hdldthe'fra'me section1 7 in proper supportingposition with .respect .tojthe, fframe section "[6 because of the physicalinteffer'ence 'of "the members with'one another.

in order to hold the sections 11 and 12 rigidly extended in end-to-end relationship with respect to one 8 another and fully supported by the support prop leg 15 and yet readily storable within the outline of sections 11 and 12, folding brace members 18, 19, 20 and 21 are provided to extend from the section 12 to a point about midway of the frame section 16 and from the section 11 to the same location on the frame section 16. The folding brace members are preferably the common folding devices well-known in the folding furniture art and preferably have a friction lock position which aids in preventing unintentional folding of the braces when in the open position.

The section 12 is illustrated as being provided with a handle 25 for carrying the back rest device when folded, and it is to be understood that any common handle mechanism may be employed in place thereof. In fact, there are handle devices which will also serve as locks to hold the sections in closed relationship.

As an auxiliary feature which may be added to the basic concept of the invention if desired, a seat 26 may be attached to the section 11 and stored within the device when not in use. Seat 26 is preferably pivotally attached to the lower edge of the section 11 by means of a hinge 27 substantially as illustrated in Figure 3 of the drawing. If it is desired to employ the seat portion, then the seat 26 is swung around the hinge 27 to the position illustrated in Figures 2 and 4 of the drawing.

Although a fiat or slightly curved seat would serve as a pad to prevent the user from sitting directly upon cold, damp earth, or hot sand, it has been found that more comfort can be obtained by raising the forward edge of the seat slightly off the ground in order to hold the legs of the user in a more natural position. Therefore, if desired, an auxiliary leg device 28 may be pivotaliy attached to the underside of the seat 26 and held in the open position by means of the holding brace 29. When the seat 26 is folded into the outline of the sections 11 and 12, the leg 28 lies against the surface of the seat and thereby does not interfere with the normal storage of the seat 26.

Although the invention has been described in its preferred form with a certain degree of particularity, it is understood that the present disclosure of the preferred form has been made only by way of example and that numerous changes in the details of construction and the combination and arrangement of parts may be resorted to without departing from the spirit and the scope of the invention as hereinafter claimed.

What I claim is:

l. A body support device, comprising, a first and a second case member each having a shell configuration with a major surface area and surrounding side walls to define a container recess, means to join said first and second case members, said means having a first registration position with the case members in side by side relationship to enclose a cavity space, said means having a second registration position with the case members in laterally extended end to end relationship with the said major surface areas jointly defining a back rest support, and extendible structural support means to hold said extended case members seated upon a surface and at an adjustable angle to said surface, said extendible structural support means being retractable for storage within said cavity, said extendible structural support means comprising, a support prop leg contactable with said joining means when said joining means is in said second registration position, and a pair of folding braces pivotally connected to the support prop leg and to the side walls of said first case member.

2. A body support device, comprising, a first and a second case member each having a shell configuration with a major surface area and surrounding side walls to define a container recess, means to join said first and second case members, said means having a first registra- 1 major surface areas jointly defining a back rest support, and extendible structural support means to hold said extended case members seated upon a surface and at an adjustable angle to said surface, said extendible structural support means being retractable for storage within said cavity, said extendible structural support means comprising, a support prop leg contactable with said joining means when said joining means is in said second registration position, first, and second pairs of folding braces, the first pair of braces being pivotally connected to the prop leg and to the side walls of said first case member, the second pair of braces being pivotally connected to the prop leg and to the side walls of said second case member.

3. A body support device, comprising, a first and a second case member, each having a shell configuration with a major surface area and surrounding side walls to define a container recess, means to join said first and second case members, said means having a first registration position with the case members in side by side relationship to enclose a cavity space, said means having a second registration position with the case members in laterally extended end to end relationship with the said major surface areas jointly defining a back rest support, extendible structural support means to hold said extended case members seated upon a surface and at an adjustable angle to said surface, said extendible structural support means being retractable for storage within said cavity, said extendible structural support means comprising, a support prop leg contactable with said joining means when said joining means is in said second registration position, and a pair of folding braces pivotally connected to the support prop leg and to the side Walls of said first case member, and a seat portion member hingedly carried by said second case member, said seat portion being swingable between a first position within said cavity space and a second position to lay upon said surface as a seat pad at the bottom of said back rest support.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS D. 167,514 Hicks Aug. 19,

1,033,905 Kaplan July 30, 1912. 1,098,126 Reich May 26, 1914 1,281,074 Russell Oct. 8, 1918 1,363,697 Vieira Dec. 28, 1920 1,792,714 Shields Feb. 17, 1931 1,915,504 Stokey June 27, 1933 2,034,369 Bayer Mar. 17, 1936 2,490,367 Maddocks Dec. 6, 1949 2,570,571 Leeman Oct. 9, 1951 2,611,417 Henry et a1. Sept. 23, 1952 FOREIGN PATENTS 615,942 Great Britain Jan. 13, 1949 

